Steinhoff made a comeback as the country’s biggest earner, followed by Shoprite.

Woolworths ranked fifth in terms of revenue in South Africa, and 43 places behind Pick n Pay in the global rankings.

Then, on Thursday, Woolworths reported a significant drop in earnings for the 26 weeks ending December 29, 2019, which, according to BusinessTech, has lead to “a reduced interim dividend”.

The food and fashion retailer said that in South Africa the constrained economic environment, power outages, unseasonal weather in parts of the country, and underperformance in clothing led to a slower second quarter.